I’m sure you have seen at least one of the below ad campaigns by Big Bazaar.
[Image Above: “The Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice!” Billboard on Hosur Road (Just Before Forum Mall), Bangalore]
Apparently its part of Big Bazaar’s (owned by Biyani’s Future Group) new Guerrilla Marketing Strategy, according to agencyfaqs.com. Surely one must have heard about the guerilla warfare strategies during one of those boring history sessions in school (generally its boring!!), wherein guerrilla force is divided into small groups that selectively attacks the target at its weak points. Wah lah, enter the future and in the world of cutthroat competition, corporates use extension of the same strategy in marketing… Hmmmm, never imagined this while we were in our shorts! Corporates like Coke, Pepsi, etc have been using the same for quite some time now and the latest entrant is our very own ‘Future Group’- Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, Future Bazaar, eZone are all part of this group and they are taking on the biggies like Shoppers’ Stop, Lifestyle, and Tata’s Westside.
In order to do the same, Future Group have come up with three catchy/cocky and cheeky ad campaign, which surely does catch your eyes (whether one changes their loyalty or not, only time will tell) and surely one can’t resist appreciating the same.
Keep West-aSide. Make a smart choice!
Shoppers! Stop. Make a smart choice!
Change Your Lifestyle. Make a smart choice! (See Image Below)
Not surprisingly, according to the latest release in ET the campaign has made the competition very uncomfortable because they somehow feel “the ads make a subtle reference to them”. Heloooooo, subtle is a very weak word used here!
With retail market in India especially in metros where standard of living and disposable income is at an all-time high, competitors will vie for the market share and will stoop to any levels while marketing their products. Guerilla marketing is just one of the strategies and surely, one can learn a lot from the ongoing battle, especially people interested in marketing/marketing techniques.
Things have already started to boil coz of this ad campaign and both Lifestyle, Shoppers’ Stop are analyzing the effect of the strategy used by Mr. Biyani and Future Group. Lifestyle is even planning to take Future Group and their ad campaign to Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). I just feel, Future Group have done a very creative job and surely, time will tell the effect of this strategy – by this I refer to both Future Group and their competitors.
Keep watching this space for more cuz I am sure this is just is just the beginning!
For more on Guerilla marketing strategy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrilla_marketing_warfare_strategies
By Guru Prasad
Friday, January 18, 2008
Ambushed by Guerilla Marketing
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2 comments:
Very nice article good insights, thanx Guru
Ya, I surely do agree that Guerilla marketing strategy is surely taking new heights now a days, probably first started in the Indian marketing and tele industry by competiting firms of Pepsico and Coca-cola. From there it has migrated and bloomed rapidly that the retail industry also has caught up with this rediscovered strategy. But those of us taking interest in marketing should also be aware of the fact that in business there is the element of ethics. Like our traditional culture is vanishing in the pretext of westernization and we seem to forget our values, ethics in business is also evaporating slowly. I think guerilla marketing is fair as long as it doesn't directly attack ones business.
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